Cade's Deal
by esmtz
Summary: What would have happened if the situation between Cade, Damon, Stefan and Elena went a little differently. Based on 8x14
1. Chapter 1

Cade's Deal

By: esmtz

Stefan screwed up. He knew it the moment Cade looked at him and laughed at his attempt to try and kill him. Cade started to easily overpower Stefan as he pushed the dagger away from him before he punched Stefan in the face making him fall to the ground. Cade smirked at him as he now had possession of the very weapon that could have been used to kill him.

"Too bad for you that the bell stopped ringing otherwise you probably would have killed me just now. Looks like luck is smiling down on me today." Cade said as he started kicking Stefan while he was still on the ground.

Stefan tried to get away from him but Cade just kept on kicking him a few more times before he grabbed Stefan and pulled him up.

"You really shouldn't have tried to kill me because now I get to make you suffer." Cade told him.

"…Go to hell." Stefan replied in a pain filled voice as he glared angrily at Cade.

Cade just smiled as he knew exactly what he wanted to do to him.

"I made a deal with your brother to trade the dagger for Elena but since you're the one who brought it and tried to use it to kill me I'm going to make him choose between saving you or her."

"You want to kill me that's fine but leave Elena out of this. Damon wasn't the one who tried to kill you. In fact he was ready to come here and make the trade. I'm the one who decided that you needed to die so don't punish my brother for what I did by threatening to take away the one person he loves." Stefan said.

"You're seriously underestimating how much your brother really loves you. Do you honestly think that Damon would just choose to save Elena right away over you?"

"Yes." Stefan said without hesitation, "He's hated me ever since the day I made him turn into a vampire. He's proven time and time again that whatever we had as brothers was destroyed a long time ago and that he will never care about me like he did before Katherine appeared in our lives. Besides all I've done since the day we died has made his life worse than what it was supposed to be so trust me he's not stupid enough to try and save me let alone choose to save me over Elena." Stefan told him.

"If I recall correctly he's saved you before hasn't he?" Cade asked.

"Not because he wanted to. He only saved me because he either wasn't done trying to make my life worse for me, he did it to make Elena happy or to quiet the guilt that he was feeling when I did something to save him and he didn't help me out." Stefan replied remembering how Damon didn't want to take the mark from him, "I guarantee you that Damon will choose Elena over me so there's no need for you to-"

"Why don't we let your brother decide who he's going to save shall we?" Cade replied as he heard footsteps coming from the direction of the entrance to the cave.

Cade positioned himself to where he was standing behind Stefan, holding him as a shield, as he put the dagger dangerously close to Stefan's neck.

"Well there you are, Damon. I was beginning to wonder if you were even going to show up." Cade said the moment Damon came into view.

"We had a deal, Cade. You have the dagger now give back Elena and let go of my brother." Damon said as he walked towards them looking worried when he saw that Cade had his brother.

"No can do, Damon. See thanks to your so called brother here you're going to have to decide who you're going to save; Stefan or Elena." Cade told him before he set Elena's coffin on fire.

"NO!" Damon yelled out his eyes going wide with fear as he watched Elena's coffin burn.

"Put her out, Cade! This is between you and me." Stefan said not caring about the fact that Cade could easily kill him at any moment.

"Well this is what happens when you try to go against me. If she dies it's your fault, Stefan." Cade told him, "You knew that I had her and yet that didn't stop you from trying to kill me. You're right every single thing that you've done since you became a vampire has made everyone else's lives, especially your brother's, worse than what they could have and should have been. The fact that you're in this position in the first place is punishing you because we all know how much you love Damon and yet you forced him into this position. If he chooses to save you he will lose the love of his life while on the other hand if he chooses to save Elena then you were right. Damon doesn't love you anymore so either way it's a lose-lose situation for you." Cade told him smirking at him.

Stefan closed his eyes for a second feeling extremely guilty that he put Elena in danger. He knew what he had to do as he opened his eyes and looked at Damon.

"Damon, you know what to do." Stefan said.

Damon looked at him confused for a second before he realized what Stefan meant. He looked at Stefan in horror when he saw just how serious his brother looked when he said that.

"…I can't, Stef. I'm not saying the words." Damon told him.

"You have to or Elena is going to die!" Stefan replied, "This should be easy for you, Damon so just go on and save Elena already."

Damon didn't say anything as he looked at Stefan with nothing but fear in his eyes. He honestly didn't know what to do. No matter who he chose to save losing the other would definitely destroy him.

"Damon, she doesn't have a whole lot of time left. We already failed as brothers. Please don't fail as her boyfriend too." Stefan said trying to convince him that it's better if he just saved Elena.

Damon flinched as he started feeling guilty about the fact that ever since they got killed because of Katherine he had never been a good brother to Stefan. To have to hear those words being said from his little brother that they failed as brothers really hurt him.

"Your brother is right, Damon. Time is clicking on Elena. If you don't choose who you want to save within thirty seconds I will simply kill them both." Cade told him.

Cade slightly put pressure on the dagger making it dig a little bit into Stefan's neck which started to bleed making Stefan wince and Damon glare angrily at Cade.

"Stop it, Cade! I made my decision." Damon told him looking at Elena's coffin for a second before turning his attention back to Cade and Stefan.

Stefan looked at his brother already knowing exactly what he was going to say as he held his breath waiting to hear him say he wants to save Elena. Cade smiled as he was curious to hear who Damon was going to save.

"Well, Damon who is it that you're choosing to save?" Cade asked.

Damon just stared at him for a second before answering.

"…Both. I want you to take me instead of killing either one of them." Damon told him.

Stefan looked at his brother in shock and horror. He hadn't expected for him to offer himself to Cade instead of choosing between Elena and him.

"Damon, don't! It's not worth it to save me! Just choose to save Elena and let Cade kill me!" Stefan said as he started to panic.

Cade looked at Damon extremely tempted to accept his offer.

"…You would really give up your chance to have a happy life with Elena in order to save your brother?"

Damon simply looked at Cade with a serious look on his face.

"Do we have a deal or not?" Damon asked.

Cade was just about to answer him but Stefan quickly cut him off.

"Damon, please listen to me. You're making a mistake! You spent more than one hundred and fifty years hating me and do you remember why? It's because I ruined your life!" Stefan said as he felt himself start to panic even more, "I'm the one who exposed Katherine and got us killed! I'm the one who made you turn into a vampire when you didn't want to be one! I'M the one who keeps making everyone else's lives worse especially yours! Please brother just let me die and I promise you that your life will get better. Don't throw your life away for something that isn't important anymore!"

Damon looked at Stefan with pain in his eyes. He had never once wanted his brother to feel like he wasn't important to him anymore. Even when he hated him he always made sure that no real harm came to his brother. Damon already knew that it was his fault that Stefan felt that way so in a way he knew that he owed it to his brother to save his life even if it meant not having the chance to spend a happy human life with Elena. Besides he couldn't stand the thought of having to watch Cade kill his little brother right in front of him.

"Damon, you're the one that's supposed to have a happy ending not me. You're not supposed to die for me." Stefan told him practically begging him to not sacrifice himself for him.

'It's not exactly a happy ending if you're dead, Stefan.' Damon thought to himself.

"…I'm sorry brother." Damon said before looking at Cade directly in his eyes, "Cade, kill me."

Author's Note: Good news and bad news. Good news is that besides this mini story I potentially have 4 more ideas for stories that I can write. The bad news is I got a job and it's taking up most of my time so I'm not sure when I can post another story or another chapter. Like before I still haven't seen season 8 so if I get anything wrong I'm sorry. Anyway I hope you guys like this story so far and hopefully I can get the next chapter up sooner rather than later. I've only seen clips for this episode and even then its been awhile since I've seen them so I'm not surprised if I get something wrong. I guess it doesn't matter since this is supposed to be different from the episode so hopefully you guys will like it by the time I finish it.


	2. Chapter 2

Cade's Deal

By: esmtz

Stefan couldn't believe that Damon didn't want to choose Elena over him. After all ever since Damon fell in love with Elena he made it perfectly clear that she was all he was ever really going to care about so for him to want to sacrifice himself to save both his brother and Elena came as a shock to Stefan. All Damon had talked about was wanting to live his life with the girl that he loved and now he was throwing it away in order to save his brother, the one person who had made his life worse. If it hadn't of been for Damon meeting Elena and getting her to love him Stefan knew that he would have definitely destroyed his brother's life. He felt nothing but fear at that moment as he waited to hear if Cade was going to accept Damon's offer or not. Cade looked at Damon as he considered whether or not he was going to accept his offer. After a few seconds he made up his mind.

"…Tempting offer, Damon but that wasn't an option that I said that you could choose from. You're either going to save Elena or you're going to save your brother so pick." Cade told him.

Stefan had never before felt as relieved as he did just then knowing that Damon was safe as he looked at his brother who had a horrified look on his face. Stefan knew that he had to find a way to convince Damon that it was okay for him to let him die but somehow he had a feeling that Damon wasn't going to listen to him. Still he had to try if he wanted Damon to have a happy human life with Elena.

"Damon, please trust me that it's better this way. You get to live your life the way you always wanted to and as a bonus you'll never have to deal with me again." Stefan told him.

Damon looked at Stefan completely hurt.

"…No." Damon said.

Stefan frowned slightly completely surprised that his brother was still being stubborn about not wanting to let him die.

"What do you mean no? You're the one who was always going on about wanting to live your life with Elena! Hell you even told me once that you had a dream where you were with Elena and I wasn't there! Trust me, Damon you're better off without me." Stefan said.

"I lied, Stefan!" Damon told him, "Yes you weren't in the dream that I had about Elena but that doesn't mean that I don't need you. I NEED you to be here little brother because I love you and I refuse to watch or even let you die!"

Stefan looked at him with a shocked expression on his face. He had always hoped that one day his brother would love him again like he did before Katherine appeared in their lives but now that he heard his brother say that he loved him he realized that it was more important for Damon to be alive and happy with Elena than for him to try and be a loving big brother. Stefan looked at his brother sadly for a few seconds.

"…I deserve this, Damon. I'm the one who took away the life that you could have had. Elena is the one who fixed it so for me to make things right between us is to make sure that you choose to save Elena over me." Stefan told him, "You haven't been happy in a long time, Damon at least not until you met Elena. She makes you happy and I refuse to ruin your life again so please just save Elena and let Cade kill me."

Damon looked like he was about to say something but Cade quickly cut him off.

"As much as I enjoy hearing you guys go on and on about this I think it's time that we moved on don't you? So who is it going to be, Damon?" Cade asked.

Damon was just about to start begging for him to kill him instead but Stefan cut him off.

"You're going to kill me, Cade." Stefan told him making Damon look at him in horror.

"Oh am I now? You're not the one who decides who I kill, Stefan." Cade told him.

"No but if you so much as hurt my brother or take Elena away from him I will find a way to kill you even if it takes me the rest of my life!" Stefan growled trying to sound threatening.

"That's not much of a threat considering that I have the one weapon that can actually kill me. You'll never find another way to kill me." Cade said.

"Do you really want to take that chance? If you kill me no one will go after you because we both already know that Damon wouldn't want to risk putting Elena in danger. If you don't kill me I'll be constantly trying to figure out a way to kill you so what's it going to be, Cade?" Stefan asked.

Cade already knew that Stefan wasn't joking about the fact that he would try to find a way to kill him. He also knew that Stefan wasn't exactly a threat either since he did have the dagger in his possession at the moment. Cade smiled as he looked at Stefan.

"I've decided. Since you're being that stubborn about it and technically I should've killed you when you became a human anyway I will kill you now instead of taking Elena's life." Cade told him.

Damon's eyes went wide in fear as he watched Cade put the flames out on Elena's coffin before turning his attention to Stefan.

"NO!" Damon yelled out as he ran towards them.

Damon suddenly found himself pinned against the wall of the cave as he looked at Cade and Stefan with nothing but fear and panic in his eyes. Cade smirked at him before turning his attention back to Stefan.

"If you do anything to piss me off Elena is as good as dead do you understand me?" Cade asked.

Stefan swallowed and nodded as he looked at Damon with a sad expression on his face.

"I'm sorry brother." Stefan said.

Damon struggled to break free as he watched Cade let go of his brother for a second only so he could move to stand right in front of Stefan.

"Don't touch him, Cade or I swear I'll-"

"You'll do what? Stefan's right you won't do anything because you'd be too worried about putting Elena in danger again. You really should be grateful that I'm killing your brother and not your girl." Cade said glancing back at Damon before looking at Stefan directly in his eyes.

Cade tossed the dagger away from him waiting to see if Stefan was going to go for it or not. Stefan looked at it for a few seconds before looking back at Cade with a serious expression on his face. Cade smiled.

"Good boy." Cade said.

All of a sudden Cade pushed Stefan up against the closest wall and started choking him.

"STEFAN!" Damon yelled out as soon as he heard his little brother struggling for air, "CADE, STOP!"

"I'll stop as soon as he's dead." Cade replied as he tightened his grip on Stefan's neck.

Stefan was starting to feel lightheaded as his vision started to become blurry. He kept his gaze focused on his brother who was completely panicking.

"Cade, I'll do anything that you want just please don't kill my brother!" Damon begged his eyes never leaving his little brother's face.

Cade ignored him as he kept choking the life out of Stefan. Damon watched in horror as Stefan's eyes slowly closed and his body relaxed.

"STEFAN!" Damon cried out his emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

Having been too busy choking the life out of Stefan to notice, someone had picked up the dagger and was slowly making their way towards Cade. Before he could even realize that someone was behind him he felt a sharp pain go through him right where his heart was at. He had a look of surprise on his face as he felt himself start to die. Damon suddenly found himself able to move again just as Cade let go of Stefan and backed away from him. Damon quickly vamp ran towards his brother who was already starting to fall to the ground and grabbed him before vamp running away from Cade who looked like he was about to explode. Within a matter of seconds Cade's skin had turned a dark red looking color before he eventually exploded into dust. Damon quickly lowered himself and Stefan to the ground not caring about the fact that Cade was dead or that he needed to check on Elena to make sure that she was ok. He was too afraid of how motionless his little brother was in his arms as he gently rested Stefan's back against the wall of the cave to help keep him sitting up. Damon cupped his brother's face in his hands and lightly shook him.

"Stefan. Hey, Stef wake up! Come on little brother please wake up! Everything's ok now. Cade's dead, Elena's ok and now all I need to know is that you're ok too so please just-"

Damon cut himself off as he realized that he couldn't see or hear his brother breathing. He used his vampire hearing to see if he could find a heartbeat or a pulse. His eyes went wide in fear when he couldn't find either one coming from his brother. He immediately brought Stefan closer to him as he hugged him tightly.

"STEFAN!" Damon cried out as tears slowly started to form in his eyes and fall down his face.

Author's Note: I'm actually surprised that this chapter came out sooner than I thought because I've been so busy at work and I have had hardly any time to work on the story. In all honesty I even think this chapter came out a little bit better than I thought it was going to be so yeah in a way for once I feel like I did a good job with this one. Anyway as always I hope you guys liked this chapter and this story so far there should just be one more chapter left until I finish the story but then again I have said that before and most of the time it's a lie but hey you never know I'm still aiming to finish this story in the next chapter so until then I hope you guys liked it. Also thanks for favoriting, following and reviewing my story it really means a lot to know that people are still reading VD Damon and Stefan stories.


	3. Chapter 3

Cade's Deal

By: esmtz

Damon didn't know how long he sat there as he continued to hug his brother tightly to him; feeling nothing but guilt and anguish as he already knew that it was his fault that his brother was dead.

'I never should have gotten him involved with Cade in the first place! Hell I should have just left the room back at the armory instead of looking for Elena like an idiot! If it wasn't for me Stefan would still be-'

Damon cut the thought off immediately as it was too painful to even think of Stefan being dead. Tears kept falling down his face as he kept hoping that this was just a nightmare, that he would wake up to find his brother still alive and that none of this had happened, but he knew that it wasn't a nightmare as he held on to his little brother not wanting to let him go.

"…I'm so sorry, Stefan for being the worst big brother ever." Damon whispered as a tear fell down his face, "…Please come back. I need you to be here little brother."

Damon turned his head to look at Stefan's face. He always knew that even when he hated Stefan he never actually hated him to the point of wanting him to die. In fact despite the fact that Damon did promise him an eternity of misery he found himself unable to really hate his brother as there had been times where he really missed his brother when they were apart or when Stefan was in trouble and Damon ended up saving him. The thought of someone trying to hurt his brother made Damon feel like ripping that person apart but the thought of someone attempting to kill Stefan made him deadly. It was obvious to Damon that he still loved his little brother but he didn't want Stefan to know that because he still intended to keep his promise to make Stefan's life an eternity of misery, but now that he saw Cade kill his little brother right in front of him he was regretting the fact that he could have been a better brother to Stefan but he wasn't. Damon pushed his brother away from him slightly so he could look at him directly.

"You're coming back, Stefan. I don't care what it takes you're coming back. I'm bringing you back even if it costs me my life." Damon said as he looked at Stefan's closed eyes.

"Damon?"

Damon turned his head slightly to see that Bonnie was standing right behind him looking at him worriedly.

"…Is Elena okay?" Damon asked.

"She's fine. Damon, is he…?" Bonnie started to ask as she looked at Stefan.

Despite the fact that she still hated Stefan for what he did to Enzo Bonnie knew that it wasn't a good thing if he was dead because she already knew how much it would hurt Damon if he was.

"Stefan isn't dead, Bonnie. He's coming back. I'm bringing him back." Damon replied as he turned his attention back to Stefan making Bonnie flinch.

Bonnie swallowed as she slowly approached Damon knowing full well that he was in denial as she raised her hand and put it on Damon's shoulder in a comforting way making him tense up.

"…Damon, I hate to say this but Stefan died as a human. There's no way to-"

"MY LITTLE BROTHER ISN'T GONE!" Damon yelled making Bonnie jump slightly.

Bonnie simply looked at him sadly as she saw the pain that was in his eyes. It was obvious to her that Damon didn't want to let go of Stefan as he just kept staring at Stefan's closed eyes. She was at a loss of words not sure about how she could possibly comfort Damon at a time like this.

"…We should probably get out of here, Damon. There's no reason for us to stay here any longer." Bonnie told him.

Damon didn't say anything which only made Bonnie worry even more. She was afraid that he might do something stupid because of the fact that he was holding his dead brother in his arms.

"Damon?"

"I heard you already, Bonnie." Damon replied not bothering to even look at her.

"Okay then I'll just go get Elena and I'll meet you outside." Bonnie told him before she started making her way back towards Elena's coffin.

Damon continued to look at his brother for a few more seconds before he slowly positioned Stefan to where he could pick him up and carry him. He picked him up and carried him in his arms as he started making his way out of the cave. It didn't take him long for him to reach the entrance of the cave as he looked down at his brother's limp body noticing how light Stefan suddenly was. Damon felt like something died inside of him the more he realized that Stefan was gone. He had a feeling that even if Elena was awake she wouldn't be enough to help him deal with the pain of losing his brother.

"Damon?"

Damon looked up and saw that Bonnie was right in front of him just outside of the cave standing next to Elena's coffin. She looked at him sadly as she could already tell that something was broken inside of him. Damon didn't say anything as he walked past her and headed towards where he parked his car. As soon as he made it to his car he quickly put Stefan in the passenger seat and just looked at him wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now.

'A witch. I need to find a witch who knows a spell that could bring someone back from the dead.' Damon thought to himself.

Damon slowly raised his hand and gently put it on Stefan's shoulder.

"You're going to be okay, Stefan. I promise little brother." Damon told him.

Damon heard footsteps coming from behind him making him turn around to see that Bonnie was making her way over towards him and both of their vehicles with Elena's coffin. Once Bonnie made it to her vehicle Damon went and helped her put Elena's coffin in the back seat. Once Elena's coffin was safely inside Bonnie's vehicle Damon closed the door and turned his attention to Bonnie.

"Quick question Bon Bon. Did your grams ever mention to you if there was a way to bring someone back from the dead?" Damon asked.

Bonnie looked at him like he had gone completely insane.

"Damon, no!"

"Please, Bonnie help me out! I need to know if there's a chance that I can bring Stefan back!" Damon begged.

Bonnie looked at him for a few seconds before sighing.

"The only spell that I remember that was able to do that was the one that brought Jeremy back and the only reason why that worked was because he was a supernatural being at the time!" Bonnie told him, "Damon, I know what you're thinking and it's impossible to bring-"

"I'm not giving up on my brother, Bonnie! Not yet." Damon told her.

Bonnie simply looked at Damon having already known that he was going to be stubborn about this. She also knew that if they didn't find a way to bring Stefan back his death would eventually destroy Damon.

"…Okay. I'll see if I can find out if there's a spell out there somewhere that can bring him back, but in the meantime my best guess for you to do would be to ask around in New Orleans. A lot of powerful witches live there and of course there's always Klaus and his family. Maybe they might know something." Bonnie told him.

Damon hated the thought of having to go to New Orleans to ask Klaus for his help but if it would help to bring Stefan back then he would go.

"…Thanks, Bonnie." Damon said.

Bonnie nodded before she started making her way around her vehicle and got in the driver seat. She started the vehicle but before she even started to drive off she turned her head to look at Damon.

"You know that you'll be okay right, Damon? I mean if we can't bring Stefan back you'll still have me until Elena wakes up." Bonnie said.

Damon hesitated before he answered her.

"…Yeah. I know." Damon replied.

Bonnie already knew that he was lying as she looked at him worriedly before driving off.

Author's Note: Well I guess the good news is my story is at least one more chapter longer so that's always good. Have I mentioned that I always seem to underestimate how much detail I put into my stories? Well I do every single time. Anyway as always I'd like to thank those who are still reading this considering the fact that I'm pretty sure most people either stopped or haven't been on fanfiction in awhile that not a lot of Stefan and Damon fans are even reading bro fics anymore that they probably don't know that I posted this one so…yeah. Of course that's not gunna stop me from updating or posting new stories as I am still interested in reading more Stefan and Damon bro fics even if they're my own so I hope you guys liked this chapter oh and Happy Halloween!


	4. Chapter 4

Cade's Deal

By: esmtz

Damon watched Bonnie drive off before he went back to where he left Stefan in the car. He quickly shut the door before going over to the driver side and getting in. He started the car, looking at Stefan for a second before driving off.

'Let's just hope that Klaus will be willing to help me out if he even knows of a way to bring Stefan back.' Damon thought not sure if Klaus would even want to help him.

Damon absolutely hated the thought of asking Klaus for his help because he already knew that he would want something in return if he did agree to help him; however he was prepared to do whatever Klaus wanted him to do to bring his brother back.

'As much as I hate having to deal with him I really hope that he knows of a way to bring Stefan back because if he doesn't I really don't know what I'm going to do.'

Damon really didn't want to admit to himself that he was scared. Scared of the possibility of his little brother being gone forever leaving him to live the rest of his eternity by himself. Sure he still had Bonnie to hang around with but it wasn't the same. He needed his brother to be there because that's the way it had always been even when Damon avoided his brother he still at least knew that Stefan was still alive. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he thought about how many times he had let his brother down.

'…When you come back, Stefan I promise that I will be a better brother to you.' Damon thought trying his hardest to not think about the possibility of Stefan staying dead.

Damon continued to drive for awhile occasionally glancing at his brother and only stopping to get gas. Other than to get gas he wasn't planning on stopping anywhere until he could get to New Orleans. He must have driven at least half way to New Orleans when he heard his phone go off. Damon picked up his phone and answered it assuming that it was Bonnie who was calling him.

"Well that was quick, Bon Bon. Did you actually find out if there's a way to bring Stefan back?" Damon asked surprised that she called him as quickly as she did.

Bonnie hesitated for a few seconds before answering him.

"…Yeah I did, but Damon what I found out…no witch on earth that I know of would be powerful enough to be able to use a spell like this. In fact whoever this guy is he must have some serious magic going for him because it involves trapping a reaper." Bonnie told him.

Damon frowned slightly.

"Guy? There's a specific guy that I'm supposed to see?" Damon asked.

Bonnie sighed not surprised to hear that Damon wasn't concerned about the fact that a random guy has the power to trap a reaper and use its power where as every other witch that Bonnie knows or at least is aware of has no way of being able to control a reaper let alone trap it.

"Yes, but Damon something's not right. Why would all of a sudden one person suddenly have the power to bring someone back from the dead where as before no one had the power to do that at all! I have a bad feeling about this." Bonnie told him.

"Well I don't care, Bonnie because it's the only lead we got! I'm still going to look for this guy because it sounds like he's the only one capable of bringing Stefan back and no matter what you say I'm not going to change my mind!" Damon replied.

"Damon just please promise me that you wont do anything stupid to bring Stefan back! If he says that you have to trade your life for Stefan then don't-"

"I can't promise you that, Bonnie because if it saves my brother then I am going to do it no matter what he wants from me." Damon said.

"What about Elena, Damon? You can't just leave her here alone when she wakes up!" Bonnie said.

Damon didn't say anything for a few seconds as he absolutely hated what he was going to say to Bonnie.

"…There's nothing that I can do about that. She'll just have to find a way to move on with her life." Damon said almost instantly feeling the pain in his heart at the thought of Elena being with someone else.

"Damon, we both know how much you really want to live your life with Elena so don't throw your life away for Stefan who, I hate to say it but, ruined all of our lives! He killed Enzo and attempted to kill us and Elena AND did you forget about what he did to you making you turn into a vampire when you didn't want to be one! Damon, I'm sorry but you'd be making a mistake if you were to-"

"Shut up, Bonnie!" Damon growled making her go silent instantly, "You don't get it. Elena isn't the only person that I love. I LOVE my little brother and it's MY fault that things ended up the way that they did! I came into town killing people because I didn't care and I hated Stefan at the time and I wanted to make him suffer! Bonnie, I should have forgiven him a long time ago instead of holding on to the anger that I felt towards him! I should've been there for him when he needed me to help him deal with being a vampire! I'M the one who failed at being a brother not Stefan!"

Bonnie didn't know what to say as she was shocked that Damon was willing to throw away his chance at happiness in order to save his brother. She tried to think of what to say that would convince him to not throw his life away.

"…Damon, how do you think Stefan will feel if he finds out that you gave up your own life to bring him back? He died for you and Elena so that way you guys could have a happy normal life together!" Bonnie told him.

"He never should have done that in the first place! Everything that has happened since we went into the armory to save your life has been my fault! Hell even before that I've failed him so many times as a brother, Bonnie that it's not funny! If it wasn't for me looking for Elena back at the armory, releasing Sybil and getting him involved with Cade, Stefan would still be-"

Damon felt himself start to get emotional as he did his best to hold in what he was feeling at that moment. Tears started to form in his eyes as he tried so hard to not let them fall and to not suddenly start crying on the phone. He found himself unable to say anything for a few seconds as Bonnie asked if he was still there.

"…Damon?" Bonnie asked again.

"…I have to fix it. I have to bring my little brother back and apologize to him and actually be a big brother to him!" Damon said, "He needs to know that I never hated him and that I've always loved him!"

Despite the fact that he did tell Stefan that he loved him before he died he wasn't sure if Stefan believed him or not and he really needed him to know that he meant what he said. Bonnie didn't say anything as she could easily hear how devastated and broken Damon was. Damon waited to hear if Bonnie was going to say something, but when she didn't he continued.

"…So, Bonnie do you have any idea about where I could possibly find this guy?" Damon asked.

"…Yeah. It must be your lucky day because currently he's in New Orleans." Bonnie replied.

Damon smiled slightly.

"You already knew where he was at?"

"Well yeah because I kinda already knew that you were going to be stubborn about wanting to find him" Bonnie replied.

"Thanks, Bonnie."

"Yeah well let's just hope that whatever this guy will want from you hopefully it's not you giving up your life." Bonnie said.

Damon didn't say anything for a few seconds as he glanced at his brother.

"…Hey, Bonnie? Could you do me a favor and don't tell Stefan about this? Better yet don't tell him that he died because I don't want him to know about what I'm going to do to bring him back."

"Damon-"

"I'm serious, Bonnie. I know how my brother is. He'll blame himself for whatever happens to me and he will stop at nothing to make it right."

"Kinda like what you're doing right now?"

"I'm doing this because I'm the big brother who was supposed to look after him! I should've done a better job at convincing Cade to kill me and not him! I should've been able to protect him and not watch him die in front of me!" Damon replied.

Bonnie didn't say anything as she really realized just how much Stefan's death was killing him. She knew that Damon cared about him but she didn't think that he would be okay with throwing his life with Elena away for him. She waited a few seconds before sighing.

"…Ok. I promise that I won't say anything to him." Bonnie replied.

"Make sure that you don't say anything to Caroline either. I don't want her to accidentally tell Stefan that he died." Damon said.

"Yeah ok."

In truth Bonnie had no intention of telling Caroline that Stefan had died unless she was absolutely certain that there wasn't a way to bring him back. She didn't want her to feel what she felt when Enzo died if it wasn't necessary.

"Good now who exactly is it that I'm looking for?" Damon asked.

"His name is Daryl he looks like he's about twenty seven years old and he's about as tall as you are. He has short blonde hair and blue eyes and he's in shape not like he works out in shape but you know looks good." Bonnie told him.

"Daryl's not a common name so that'll work. Nice work, Bonnie." Damon said.

"Thank my mom. She's the one who has been keeping an eye on him ever since she found out about what he could do. I only know all of this because she told me about him and she showed me a picture of him."

"Well next time you talk to her tell her that I said thanks. If it wasn't for you and her I wouldn't be getting my little brother back so you know th-"

"Damon, you've already said thanks to me twice today. I get it already and you're welcome by the way. Just please call and let me know if everything turns out ok or not you know regarding how it goes down between you and Daryl and if he did bring Stefan back. I hate wondering if I have to worry about you once he does bring Stefan back." Bonnie said.

"I will. I'll call you later." Damon replied before hanging up.


	5. Chapter 5

Cade's Deal

By: esmtz

Damon continued to drive towards New Orleans feeling extremely nervous as he was worried that either Daryl wouldn't help him or worse yet couldn't help him. Despite the fact that Bonnie mentioned that this guy knew a spell that could trap a reaper it didn't necessarily mean that he was able to control it and make it bring people back. For all he knew Daryl might only be capable of saving people who are close to dying and not actually able to bring someone back from the dead. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he tried to convince himself that Daryl will be able to help him.

'If Bonnie says that he'll be able to help me then he will. The only question is will he want to help me?' Damon thought.

Damon knew that he needed to be careful with how he treated this guy because he had no way to threaten him if he didn't want to help him whereas if he pissed him off Daryl would guaranteed not help him. He couldn't exactly say that he'd kill him if he didn't help him because Daryl would already know that he was lying and if he tortured him well Damon had a feeling that it wouldn't end well.

'I guess the only option I have is to beg him to help me if he doesn't want to help me.' Damon thought before turning his head to look at his brother.

"Now look what you're making me do, Stefan. I'm practically going to have to beg this guy to bring you back if he doesn't want to help me." Damon said.

Damon raised his right hand and affectionately ruffled Stefan's hair. He looked at him sadly when he obviously got no response as he pulled his hand back and placed it back on the steering wheel. It hurt knowing that Stefan didn't respond to him so instead of looking at him Damon kept his concentration on the road and on the fact that he will be bringing his brother back soon. By the time he made it to New Orleans it was dark outside and not a whole lot of people were out and about. Damon quickly found a place to park but before he even attempted to get out of the car he turned to look at Stefan.

"I'll be right back little brother. I just need to find this guy first before I bring you with me." Damon told him before he opened his door and got out of the car.

Despite the fact that not a lot of people were out right now Damon was determined to find Daryl even though there was only a small amount of people that he could ask and chances were that Daryl was most likely asleep at the moment. He closed the door to his car, locked it, and then started making his way to the closest people that he could see. Damon immediately asked if they knew who Daryl was or at least if they've seen someone around who looked like him but when they said no he thanked them for at least answering him before moving on to the next group of people. He continued to look for more people to ask for at least half an hour before he realized that everyone was already in bed asleep. He was starting to feel frustrated as he was not patient enough to wait a couple of hours before everyone finally got out of bed and went back to work. Just as he was about to head back to his car Damon saw someone sitting in a bar by themselves making him frown slightly wondering why one guy was still up and from what he could see it didn't look like he was going to make an attempt to leave anytime soon. Damon decided to go inside and ask him if he knew who Daryl was even though he knew that more than likely this guy wouldn't know. He slowly approached him suddenly getting this feeling that this guy was dangerous.

"Hello, Damon." The guy said making Damon stop in his tracks.

"…You know who I am?" Damon asked completely surprised that he knew who he was and that he was there.

"Of course I've been waiting for you to show up ever since Cade killed your brother and you asked your friend Bonnie for help." The guy replied turning his head to look back at Damon.

Damon felt a shiver run down his spine as he had a strong feeling that this guy might be worse than Cade. For a split second he thought he saw the guy's eyes turn yellow.

"How do you know about that?" Damon asked completely shocked that he knew about why he was there.

"Lets just say that we've kept tabs on Cade." The guy replied.

"We?"

The guy simply smiled at him.

"You don't honestly think that Cade was the only one let loose when the Maxwell bell rang eleven times do you?" The guy asked.

Damon looked at him in shock.

"…Let me guess you're not human are you, Daryl?" Damon asked already knowing the answer.

"I'm not human no, but technically this guy that I'm possessing is." Daryl told him.

"Possessing? What are you?"

"I'm one of many demons from hell though only a few of us managed to get out of hell before the bell stopped ringing." Daryl told him.

Damon didn't say anything for a few seconds as he just looked at him hoping that he was in the mood to help him out. Daryl already knew what he was going to ask as he just sat there and looked at him waiting for him to ask the question.

"…Since you already know why I'm here is it possible for you to bring someone back from the dead?" Damon asked.

Daryl simply smiled at him.

"Of course I can bring your little brother back but the question is, is he really the one you want me to bring back?" Daryl asked.

Damon frowned looking at him confused.

"What do you mean of course he's-"

"I can bring Elena back without causing either her or Bonnie to die because of Kai's spell." Daryl told him.

Damon looked at him in shock.

"You can really do that?" Damon asked.

"Yes but just so we're clear I'm not doing both and there's a price to pay for whoever it is that I'm bringing back." Daryl told him.

"What kind of price?"

"For Elena I'll give you ten years to live your life with her before I kill you. With Stefan you only get one year because I am bringing him back from the dead whereas with Elena I'm just removing the spell that Kai placed on her." Daryl told him, "So who is it going to be Elena or Stefan?"

Damon was extremely tempted to say Elena but knowing that his little brother was dead because of him and that his body was in his car Damon already knew who he needed to bring back.

"…Stefan. I need you to bring Stefan back." Damon told him.

"You sure about that?" Daryl asked.

"Yes. My little brother was never supposed to die on me. He was supposed to live his life with Caroline and I was supposed to have years to try and adjust to the fact that my brother was going to die on me one day. It's my fault that he's dead so I need to fix it by bringing him back and actually be a big brother to him even if it's only for a short time." Damon replied.

Damon felt nothing but guilt at how things turned out for Stefan. It was his fault that Stefan got involved with Cade and turned off his humanity in order to do the job that Cade gave them. It was his fault that once again Stefan became the ripper which eventually lead to him releasing Cade, killing Enzo and becoming human. Damon never wanted for any of this to happen but thanks to him being an idiot back at the armory he knew that everything that happened to Stefan was his fault. Damon clenched his fists tightly at his sides as he lowered his gaze to the floor.

"…I should've been a better brother to him instead of me constantly letting him down. I'm never going to forgive myself for ruining his life." Damon said to himself.

Daryl simply looked at him completely surprised that Damon chose his brother over his girl.

'He must really love his little brother for him to choose him over Elena.' Daryl thought.

"Ok I'll bring your brother back but just a heads up if you try to find a way to get out of this deal I'll make sure that Stefan goes back to being dead do you understand me?" Daryl said.

"Trust me I wasn't planning on it so there's no need for you to threaten my brother." Damon replied looking back up at him with a serious look on his face.

Daryl looked at him for a moment to see if he was lying or not.

"…Fine I'll believe that you're telling me the truth so where's Stefan?" Daryl asked.

"He's in the car. I'll go and get him." Damon said before vamp running out of the bar.

As soon as he made it to his car he quickly unlocked it and went to get Stefan from the passenger side.

"It's time to bring you back little brother." Damon said as he opened the door and quickly pulled Stefan out of the car and held him in his arms.

Damon quickly shut the door before vamp running back to the bar. Daryl was still sitting where he was at as he watched Damon enter the bar and quickly sat Stefan in a chair with his hands on Stefan's shoulders to make sure that he stayed sitting in the chair.

"Well are you going to bring him back now or what?" Damon asked as he looked at him waiting for him to stand up and move towards them.

Daryl stood up and moved to where he stood directly in front of Stefan. He got on his knees and slowly moved his right hand and placed it on Stefan's chest.

"Hang on a second when you bring him back he's not going to wake up right away is he?" Damon asked worried that Stefan might wake up and find out what's going on.

"Relax once he starts breathing it'll be awhile before he does wake up." Daryl told him before he started chanting.

Damon watched anxiously as Daryl continued to chant for several seconds; waiting to hear his brother breathing again. It didn't take long until Damon was finally able to hear his brother's heart beating making him start to feel emotional as he heard his brother breathing. Daryl stood up and backed away from them as Damon moved to where he was kneeling in front of Stefan. He shakily raised his hand and gently put it on Stefan's chest just to make sure that his brother was really breathing. Damon looked at Stefan's face with a huge smile on his face as he felt his brother's chest moving proving to him that Stefan really was alive. Tears formed in his eyes before they fell down his face as he slowly and gently pulled Stefan closer to him and hugged him as tight as he could without hurting or waking him.

"…Thank you." Damon said to Daryl.

Daryl didn't say anything as he looked at Damon hugging Stefan.

'Trust me you're not going to be thanking me when your time comes, Damon.' Daryl thought.


	6. Chapter 6

Cade's Deal

By: esmtz

Damon didn't notice Daryl leave as he was too busy hugging his brother. He stayed hugging Stefan for a few more minutes as he let the feeling of relief sink in that his brother was okay. Damon put one of his hands behind Stefan's head and gently kissed him on the side of his head.

"I love you little brother." Damon whispered feeling completely happy that he had his brother back.

Once Damon was done hugging Stefan he quickly picked him up and held him in his arms before he walked out of the bar. Damon started making his way back towards his car as he continued to look at his brother who was now obviously breathing. As soon as he made it to his car he quickly put Stefan in the passenger seat before going over to the driver's side and started the car. Before he started to drive however Damon pulled out his phone and dialed Bonnie's number. He put his phone to his ear as he waited for her to answer.

"Damon?" Bonnie asked worriedly as she had been waiting for him to call her to tell her what happened.

"I'm just calling to let you know that everything is fine, Bonnie. There's nothing for you to worry about." Damon told her having already decided that he wasn't going to tell her the truth.

Bonnie didn't say anything for a few seconds as she took in what Damon said. She was completely shocked that everything went well and that Damon didn't have to do anything to get his brother back.

"…Are you sure because something like this-"

"I'm sure." Damon said quickly cutting her off.

Once again Bonnie didn't say anything as she let the feeling of relief sink in that she had nothing to worry about. She took a deep breath in before letting it out.

"That's great, Damon. I'm happy for you that you got your brother back." Bonnie told him.

"Thanks, Bonnie." Damon said as he looked at Stefan with a smile on his face as he watched him breathe.

"So how is he?" Bonnie asked.

"It seems like he's okay. He's unconscious right now but he is breathing." Damon replied, "We just brought him back a few minutes ago."

"Did Daryl say when Stefan is supposed to wake up?" Bonnie asked.

"All he said was that it would be awhile before he does wake up." Damon said.

Bonnie could clearly hear the worry in Damon's voice as she could only imagine how anxious he must be feeling right now.

"I'm sure that he'll wake up soon, Damon." Bonnie told him.

"I know." Damon replied.

At that moment a huge part of Damon just wanted Stefan to wake up right away but another part of him was grateful that he still had time to get Stefan home before he woke up.

"At least I'll have time to get him home before he wakes up." Damon said.

"You're still planning on lying to him about what happened, Damon?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes because knowing him he won't believe me when I say that I brought him back without me having to pay for it. He'll immediately think that I'm lying to him and will more than likely try to find out if I'm lying or not." Damon replied.

"How is that a problem? You're fine aren't you?" Bonnie asked.

Damon sighed.

"Yes but I just don't want to have to convince Stefan that I really am okay. You have no idea how stubborn he can be." Damon replied.

Bonnie sighed realizing that Damon wasn't going to change his mind.

"Ok." Bonnie said.

"Just so we're clear don't tell Caroline about what happened either. I want this to just be between you and me got it?" Damon asked.

"Yeah I got it." Bonnie replied.

"Good now I'll call you back as soon as I get back into town ok." Damon said.

"Ok I'll talk to you later then, Damon." Bonnie replied.

"Yeah I'll call you later oh and Bonnie thanks again for helping me get my brother back." Damon said before hanging up.

As soon as he arrived in Mystic Falls Damon immediately sent Bonnie a text message telling her that he finally made it back to town as he started making his way back to the boarding house. Once he got there Damon quickly parked the car, turned the car off and went to get his brother from the passenger side. He immediately then took Stefan to his room and put him in his bed. Damon pulled the chair that was in the room closer to the bed and sat on it as he looked at his brother waiting for him to wake up. As he looked at him Damon kept his hearing focused on his brother's breathing and heartbeat as he still needed reassurance that Stefan wasn't dead. It wasn't long before Damon heard someone open the door downstairs making him assume that it was Bonnie who just showed up.

"Damon, are you here?" Bonnie yelled out as Damon heard her shut the door.

"Up here, Bonnie!" Damon yelled back still not taking his eyes off of Stefan.

He heard as Bonnie started walking up the stairs and headed towards where he and Stefan were at. As soon as she entered the room Damon slightly turned his head to look at her before he turned his attention back to Stefan.

"So how is he, Damon?" Bonnie asked as she walked closer to him and Stefan.

Damon smiled as he continued to look at his brother.

"He's alive." Damon replied.

Bonnie stood next to him as she saw that Damon had his hand on Stefan's arm and was looking at him with a loving expression on his face. She looked at Stefan and noticed right away that he was breathing. Bonnie then looked at Damon and saw just how happy he really was to have his brother back.

"…And how are you doing you know after everything?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm okay." Damon told her.

Bonnie just looked at him already knowing how Damon was going to react as soon as Stefan woke up. He wont admit it but she knew that Damon was scared when he thought that he lost his brother. She was about to say that she didn't believe him when all of a sudden she saw Stefan's hand move. Damon had also seen Stefan's hand move which only made him tighten his grip slightly on Stefan's arm as he just looked at him expecting him to wake up.

"Stefan?" Damon asked as he waited for his brother to open his eyes.

Stefan slowly started to wake up as he started to move around slightly adjusting himself before his eyes slowly opened. The first thing that he saw was Damon looking at him with a huge smile on his face.

"…Damon?" Stefan asked tiredly wondering why his brother looked like he was on the verge of crying.

Damon was trying his best to not lose it in front of his brother as he was struggling to remain in control of himself without him sounding over emotional. It was a losing battle however as he gave in to his older brother instincts and brought Stefan into a hug.

"You're okay, Stefan. You're okay." Damon whispered as he hugged him tightly.

Stefan looked at him completely surprised that Damon was reacting the way that he was reacting.

'Something's wrong.' Stefan thought as he looked at Damon worriedly.

Author's Note: First off I want to say how sorry I am that it took me this long to post another chapter. I got busy at work and every time I got off work I just wanted to play video games plus I got lazy. I only got one comment for my last chapter and I was waiting for more but none came so yeah I got lazy sorry about that but hey I did eventually post another chapter just like I will eventually continue on again with this later I don't know when just somewhere in the future. I am that kinda lazy plus I have to update my Enzo's Revenge story next so yeah hopefully you guys will like this chapter and im really sorry for future updates because it'll be awhile before I update again.

Msblovesdefan- If you're still here I'm so sorry that it took me forever to update again. As for what you said it's not exactly a crossover but it's similar. Let's just say that I have a very strong belief that Lucifer is king of hell and not Cade. Sorry Stefan is still human in this.


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